Vermillion Squirrels
by IchiakiI
Summary: Roxas hasn't talked since the accident. Axel may be the only one to break through Roxas' defenses and make him open up. Written for my beta- DreamingDaxern.
1. Chapter 1

"Roxas."

The ladybug walked across the burnt black sidewalk and waddled its way towards a piece of grass.

"Roxas?"

The little black legs under the bright red with black dotted body grabbed onto the blade of grass and began to pull its way up the stem.

"ROXAS!"

Roxas stopped watching the ladybug and looked at his brother, Sora, who had been calling his name for the past minute. He gave the brunette a tired look and went back to watching the lady bug. Sora was Roxas' older brother by one year and five months. He had dark brown hair the splayed out in all directions. He always wore baggy pants and tight fitting shirts—an odd combo, but it fit his personality well. He was always talking and one to be the center of attention. He was outgoing and could make friends in an instant just by twinkling his eyes and smiling at them. Roxas, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. The only thing the two shared, were the cerulean blue eyes that belonged to their dad. Roxas had blond hair and always wore loose tops and tight jeans. He was quiet and he only talked when he wanted to, which was never.

Roxas flinched at the gust of cold winter wind that caressed his face but kept his eyes on the ground. Sora finally decided to give up on his brother and stomp on the leaves traveling with the wind. The yellow bus turned the corner and gave a honk that startled the brunette and was ignored by the blonde. The bus slowed to a stop next to the two and opened its doors. A lady from around the age of the dinosaurs opened the door and frowned at the two.

"Great. Two more punks I gotta pick up," she said as Sora hopped up the stairs and flittered into a seat with a surprised, silver haired boy. Roxas gripped the shoulder strap of his backpack and solemnly made his way up the stairs. He looked around for a seat but found that none were available. He turned to make his way back up to the front but was tripped and fell face first onto the narrow passageway. He heard snickers surround him and he scoffed. He picked himself up and wiped his hands on his pants while he continued to the front. This school was no different than the others. He finally found a seat with some blonde girl and the two sat in silence till they got to school.

Sora was the first one off the bus but stopped and waited for the silver haired boy, whom he had already made friends with. He clung to his arm and asked him to show him around. The boy smiled and nodded as he led him into the building. It was typical of Sora to forget about Roxas. Sometimes he didn't mean to, but Roxas never exactly talked to him so he would get bored with the blonde and find something else to do. Roxas made his way down the stairs and was once again tripped onto the hard gray cement.

"Hey lookie here. We got a new toy to play with!" a boy said, his beanie covering most of his eyes but, they still gave off a glint of evil. Roxas shuddered and attempted to pick himself off the ground for the second time that day. The boy slapped him on the back and wrapped his arm around his shoulder—pulling him closer to himself.

"My name's Seifer. Do you need a tour around school, new kid?" Seifer asked as he whispered in Roxas' ear.

First day of school and he was already being bullied. Fan-fucking-tastic. Roxas pushed Seifer away and took off running towards the school. He heard a few shouts directed at him but ignored them all till he was inside the giant building. He made his way into the doors and looked around for his brother. He saw a sign that said office and decided that would be a good place to start. He walked to the office, keeping his eyes on the ground the whole way. He just wanted to be invisible. He wanted to blend in with the ground and become undetectable, then, no one could see him. When he made it to the door, he lightly gripped the knob and pushed it open. He was greeted by a squeal and a bone crushing hug that Roxas was unaffected by.

"I'm sorry Roxas! I totally forgot about you! Riku wanted to show me to the office and I just said yes but forgot about you!" Sora said as he rubbed his face against Roxas'.

Roxas' face was one of disgust as he pushed his brother off of him. He would always do that. He would leave him and then come back after everything had happened. Roxas knew Sora just had bad timing and because of that, Roxas had to suffer.

Sora seemed to sense something had happened and asked.

"Roxas? Did something happen? Don't you lie to me. You know I can tell when you do," Sora nagged as he wagged a finger at the blond.

The boy, Riku, stood off in the background, busy with obtaining the two's schedules. Roxas knew his brother could read him like a book. Sora thought of it as a gift; Roxas thought of it as a curse. Roxas looked to the ground and stayed silent. Sora huffed and hugged his brother once more.

"You're staying with me and Riku for the rest of the day, got it?" Sora said as he backed up from the blonde, who only looked at him in confusion. Sora laughed and continued, "The classes here are extremely easy so they put you in a lot of my classes and Riku is in my classes too!" Sora said as the man showed up behind them.

"I have your schedules, you two. Sorry, Roxas was it? Sora neglected to tell me he had a brother. I wouldn't have left you behind with Seifer in the gang if he had," Riku said with an apologetic look. "My name's Riku. Sorry for the late meeting," Riku said as he held his hand out to Roxas. Roxas stared at it. He reluctantly moved his hand out to great his halfway and the two shook. Roxas was surprised at the amount of strength the boy had. Riku gripped his hand with intensity. Roxas winced at the shaper pain and Sora decided to jump in.

"So how many classes do we have together?" Sora asked Riku as he broke apart the handshake.

"We have all of our classes together. We also have almost all of them with Roxas too," Riku said as he looked between the two papers. Roxas looked at the beige carpet under his feet and played with a couple of strands using his shoes.

"Almost?" Sora asked the question Roxas was thinking.

"He has two classes without us," Riku said as he looked at Sora's horrified face. "Don't worry, I have friends on both of those classes. They owe me a bunch, so I'll have them watch him." Riku looked at Sora and continued," He sure does look like a troublemaker. Albeit unintentionally, he's going to grab a lot of attention." Riku waved for the two to follow him and headed out the door. Sora quickly ran and grabbed his arm. Roxas found it a bit odd. Sora usually wasn't one to be clingy. A crush. Yup, Sora had a big crush on the slightly taller man. Roxas sighed and hurried to catch up—not wanting to meet the 'Seifer' guy again.

The three went to all their classes together. Each one the same as the last. Roxas and Sora were forced to stand in the front of the classroom and recite their names and where they came from. Sora would always smile and cover for Roxas.

"My name's Sora Strife! This is my little brother Roxas. We both came from Disneyland! It's nice to meet all of you!" he would say as he pulled Roxas to one of the empty seats next to him and Riku.

The bell finally rang on their current period and the three headed to lunch. Riku and Sora were talking about what types of games they liked and other things they had in common. Roxas walked closely behind them and listened to their conversation. Something caught the corner of Roxas' eye as they entered the large lunchroom. Roxas turned his head to get a better look at it.

Red.

Bright red hair, the color that you would see on a fire truck, was seen on a boy's head. The boy stood a couple tables away—waving at someone. Roxas gasped in his mind when the boy's bright emerald green eyes locked onto his own cerulean blue ones. The two stared at each other till Sora shook Roxas' shoulder.

"Hello! Aren't you going to sit with us?" Sora asked as he began to drag Roxas toward the now smirking red haired boy. The boy sat on top of a table and Roxas watched in amazement as Riku walked up and high fived the boy. Roxas watched curiously as the boy got off the table and stood up. He had to be at least three feet taller than Roxas, who watched with a blank stare as the boy strutted over to him and Sora.

"Who's the cutie?" the emerald eyes gleamed with mischief as the boy bent down to get a better perspective on Roxas.

"His name's Roxas! Mine's Sora! It's nice to meet you!" Sora said as he jumped up and down, a little too excited over nothing.

"The name's Axel. Got it memorized?" Axel said as he put a finger to his temple and winked one shining eye. Roxas felt his heart thud in his ribcage and quickly brought his attention to the tile floor. He heard a slap and Riku start scolding Axel on the stupid phrase. He felt Sora pull him away while telling the two arguing boys they were going to go get some lunch.

"Roxas…" Sora started as they were waiting in line for their food. "Why didn't you say anything?" Sora asked in a slightly hurt tone.

Now that to two were alone, Sora got serious. Roxas looked at his hands and brought one up to cover his throat and look at his brother in sadness. Roxas doesn't talk for a reason. Not just because he doesn't feel like it, but because he lost his voice a couple years ago. He and his friend Hayner had been in a car together with Hayner's dad. A semi-truck's tire blew out next to them and they were sent flying into the wall on their other side. Hayner's dad died on impact and Hayner died later on in the hospital. Roxas was extremely lucky to get away with some lacerations and wounds from the glass cutting him. Roxas lost his voice when, somehow, some of the glass found its way to his vocal cords. He had surgery and a couple weeks after, he was said to have regained full control of his voice. He went to therapy a couple times a week. But, Roxas suddenly quit going. No one but Roxas knew why. Deep down inside, he was afraid. Afraid he might not like his voice. What if it came out old and gross? Roxas couldn't risk it.

Sora seemed to understand that Roxas couldn't have said anything and he brought his arm around his brother and pulled him into a tight hug. They broke apart immediately and Sora went back to being happy-go-lucky as he practically flirted with the lunch lady to try and get more food on his plate. Roxas smirked slightly at his brother's antics and grabbed an apple. He paid for the apple and headed back to find Riku and Axel. He looked around and immediately spotted the red haired boy laughing with Riku and some other people. Roxas hesitated and wondered if he should wait for Sora to come when he suddenly felt a hand on his head.

"What are you doing just standing there? Sit."

Axel had somehow made his way over to him while he was thinking. Axel ruffled Roxas' hair and pointed to the empty seat. A boy with a darker shade of blond waved to him and asked him to sit. Roxas sat in the chair and stared at the grey table in front of him. He heard his name be called couple times, but he just stared at the table and ate his apple. A thought flashed through his mind. What if they were as mean as 'Seifer'? Roxas quickly looked up and immediately blushed when he realized Axel sat right across from him and their eyes were locked together.

Axel was in the middle of biting his sandwich when the quiet blond suddenly jerked his head up. He searched the wide and scared eyes for a second before the blond realized what he did and they filled with embarrassment. The emerald eyes refused to let the cerulean ones look anywhere else. He saw the pale skin start to cover with a light pink blush and had to smile through his sandwich. The boy seemed to notice Axel's smile and quickly looked down at the table again. Axel watched in amusement as a light smirk passed across the blonds' shaded face.

Axel continued to watch the blonde throughout lunch. He didn't know why, but for some reason, the blonde caught his attention. He wanted to know why the boy refused to talk. He had asked Sora about it while the blond was engaged in a staring contest with the table. Sora said the he just didn't feel like talking and quickly turned back to Riku. He knew he was missing something but also realized that Sora wasn't going to answer anymore.

The bell rang and everyone got up and started heading out to their respective classes. Axel went to go to his next class before he was stopped by Riku.

"Hey Axel, remember last week when I covered your ass in math and you said you owe me one?"

"Uh, no?" Axel lied as he tried to find out what the sly silver haired boy wanted with his body.

"Well, you did. I need to look after Roxas here during your last two classes."

Axel eyes grew big and a grin crossed his lips. His smile grew even more when he saw the blond shift uncomfortably next to his brother. Sora smiled and gently pushed the silent boy towards the happy red head.

"I swear to god Axel, if anything happens to my brother, I'm going to rip out your throat and feed it to the birds while giving your blood to a pair of vermillion colored squirrels!" Sora said with the biggest smile he could muster.

Axel mentally shivered and knew he should never get on Sora's bad side. The last two classes of the day were up next. He and Roxas had English and study hall together. He turned and headed towards the classroom. The blond quickly tripped and followed the taller man as close as possible. Axel felt like a mother duckling as the blond struggled to keep up with his larger strides. The two finally made it to class and Axel pointed to the seat next to him and ordered the blond to sit. The boy sat and stared at the desk in front of him. There were many intricate drawings born from the boredom of teenager's mind carved into the wood. He stared at them and studied the way they were made. Axel watched the boy curiously and decided to strike up a conversation with the quieter one.

"So… Roxas, where did you live before you came here?" the man asked as he moved in his seat to face the boy. He leaned his elbows on his knees and leaned closer to the silent blond. He was ignored. The boy didn't even blink at the question. He stared at the desk in front of him. Axel tried to figure out why he didn't answer when it finally came to him.

"I'm such an idiot!" Axel said as he facepalmed. What Axel failed to realize was that class had long since started and had been going on for around five minutes.

"Yes, Axel? Is there something you would like to share?" the teacher asked from the front of the classroom.

"Uh, no. I was just thinking!" Axel lied as he awkwardly swung his long legs back under the desk and faced forward. How could he have been so stupid as to forget that Roxas didn't talk? No wonder why he didn't answer.

"Oh, I see we have a new student! Roxas Strife? Am I right? Why don't you come up here and tell us about yourself."

Axel looked at the boy in question and wondered how he would answer. The boy slowly pulled back his chair and walked up to the board. He grabbed a piece of chalk and wrote 'Roxas Strife; Disneyland'. He put the chalk down and wiped his hands together as he walked back to his chair. The boy sat down and the teacher could do nothing but accept the answer on the board. The class continued on as planned and Axel could only stare at the blond.

Class ended and Axel stood and stretched. Peaking out from below his shoulder, he noticed a bright cerulean eyes staring at his stomach. He followed the blond's gaze and saw that his shirt had lifted up slightly, revealing part of his happy trail. Axel chuckled at the blonde.

"Like what you see?"

The blond jumped at the red head's voice. A blush quickly spread across his face and he frantically looked anywhere but the tall boy in front of him. Axel's hearty laugh reverberated next to his ear and Roxas felt his lips twitch into a smile. The laugh made his heart beat a few times faster. When a hand suddenly lay itself on his shoulder, the heart decided to step it up a notch.

"Well come on! Let's head over to study hall," Axel nodded his head toward the door and motioned for the boy to follow.

Roxas quickly threw his school books in his bag and hurried after the boy who stood waiting for him next to the door. Roxas stumbled to the door and tripped as he got up to the red head. Axel swiftly moved to catch the falling boy by reaching around and grabbing his waist.

"No need to rush. I'm friends with the teach'. He ain't gonna do anything if we're a few minutes late," Axel's cool voice whispered across Roxas' ear. He quickly wiggled in the Axel's grasp and dislodged himself from his tight hold. Axel laughed at the boy's ever present blush and wrapped his arm around the boy's shoulder pulling him closer and turning his cheeks a nice cherry pink. The two walked to class just as the bell rang. They walked in and Axel swiftly dodged a piece of chalk and hid behind a surprised Roxas.

"You're late," a tall man with an eye patch got out another piece of chalk and aimed it at the cowering boy.

"I was showing Roxas around school! He's new you see! He's from Disneyland!" Axel said in a flurry of words as his red locks rubbed against the side of Roxas' face. Axel was very good at hiding for a boy of his height.

"Whatever. Get to your seat and shut up," the man said as he waved the two boys off and went onto the computer. Axel grabbed Roxas' hand and smirked at the blush. He pulled the blond to the back of the classroom where the other blonde boy from lunch sat before them. Axel sat next to him and struck up a conversation while Roxas hung back and sat next to the red headed loudmouth.

"Don't worry about Xigbar. He's usually all bark but no bite. It's only Axel he picks on!" the blond boy said from next to Axel. Roxas smiled and dipped his head in appreciation. He looked to Axel and saw that the red head was deep in thought about some sort of problem.

"That's it! I know what we are going to do next week!" Axel suddenly said as he jumped up in his chair. He was immediately greeted by twenty shushes. Axel quickly apologized and sat down.

"Let's go to the beach!" he said in a much lower voice. The other blond smiled and agreed then turned and began to talk with a slate haired boy about the new plans.

"Hey Roxas! Why don't you get your brother to go? I'm sure Riku's going to come too," Axel said as he grabbed the silent one's shoulders. Roxas smiled and nodded his head in agreement. The bell sounded and they packed up their things and headed out to the courtyard. They made it to some picnic tables and Axel sat on the table, just like he had done in the cafeteria earlier.

"Roxas!" a voice said right before Roxas was attacked by a glomp. "Did he hurt you? Are you ok? How many fingers am I holding up?" Sora asked a barrage of questions as he held two fingers up on his right hand. Roxas smiled and held up two fingers as well. Sora laughed and hugged his younger brother.

"Hey Roxy! I will talk ya later 'kay?" Axel said as he waved to the blond, whom was now being pulled away by a frantic Sora.

"Are you sure he didn't hurt you?" Sora inquired when they were well away from the table. Roxas nodded his head and remembered that they were heading to the dreaded bus. He suddenly felt himself tense up and readied himself for any sort of impact he was going to receive. They got on the bus and once again, Sora sat with Riku—forgetting all about him as he began talking about math. Roxas saw Riku give him a smirk before looking at the brunette. Roxas wondered if Riku was really a nice guy like Sora believed him to be as he made his way to the back of the bus. He felt a hand on his shoulder and almost yelped as he was thrown into a seat.

"Think you can still ride the bus?" Seifer said as he closed in on the blond. Roxas could only watch in horror as Seifer raised his hand and quickly brought it down on his face. Roxas cringed in fear and closed his eyes but never felt any pain. After a minute or so passed, he cautiously opened his eyes and saw the Seifer was now on the ground, one side of his face was beginning to swell. He was looking up, his eyes wide in fear, at some figure looming above the two boys.

"Think it's pretty cool to pick on little boys? What are you a pedobear?"

A hearty laugh that filled Roxas with joy and made his heart beat quicker greeted them. Roxas immediately jumped out of the seat and hugged the red head. He felt Axel's hand ruffle his hair and take him to a seat behind Sora. The slate haired boy was sitting in it but graciously moved when the red head came near.

"You could have sat with me," the slate haired boy added as he went to sit somewhere else. Roxas smiled at the kind words and felt himself heat up as Axel pulled him down into the seat the two shared. He looked into the green eyes and waited for an answer. The red head only cocked an eye brow and Roxas figured the boy would have to learn his language later. He swiftly pulled out his phone and began to type rapidly.

'Thank you.'

"No problem! Riku told me earlier and I figured I might as well fix this up now rather than wait till later. By the way, mind if I come over?" Axel said, all the while smiling.

'Ask Sora.'

"Hey Sora," the taller man leaned over the seat and swatted at one of the unruly brunette locks.

"What the hell do you—Axel? What are you doing on the bus?" Sora asked, bewildered, as he twisted around to get a better look at the two that sat behind him.

"Roxas here wanted me to come over and help him with his English homework! He said to ask you if it was alright."

"Isn't it a little late to ask? You're already on the way to our house."

"Good! Thanks Sora!" Axel said as he sat back down in his seat and faced the blond once more. "Sora said 'Yes!'"

'Yes Axel, I heard him too.'

Axel chuckled and saw Roxas laugh as well. Axel was amazed at the way Roxas pulled this off. His mouth was open and his eyes were shut but no sound came out. If you listened closely, you could hear the air as he breathed in and out. Axel suddenly had the urge to hug the cute, laughing boy in front of him. He wrapped his arms around the boy and pulled him close. The airy laughs immediately stopped as he realized he had been caught. Roxas beat against the larger boy's chest till the boy reluctantly let him go. The bus stopped and Axel was swatted in the head.

"This is our stop," Riku said as he pulled Sora off the bus. Roxas and Axel watched them walk away as Roxas speed texted on his phone.

'This isn't our house."

"Yeah it's Riku's! Wow, the two already have a play date! Well, so do we, Roxy!" Axel said as he laid his arm over the blonds' shoulder and laughed once more.

'Roxy?'

"Yeah I thought it was a good rhyme! Didn't you? 'We.' 'Roxy.' See?" Axel said as he pointed at the imaginary words in the air. Roxas smiled and nodded his head.

'Is that my… nickname?'

"Yeah? YEAH! It is! Foxy Roxy Moxy Poxy! But I think I'm just going to call you Roxy." Axel said as he pulled the blond into another hug as the bus slowed down to a stop. Roxas lightly pulled Axel's shirt and signaled for them to get off. The two got off the bus and Axel stared at the size of the house that lay in front of him. It was an old style Victorian house. There were at least twelve windows on the side of the house that he could see. Each window had a different color drape that somehow matched the light blue outside of the building. Roxas walked up the stone walkway and began to climb up a set of steps. Once at the top, he turned and waved for Axel to follow. Axel looked at the blond, and quickly ran to him. Roxas fished out the keys from his pocket and unlocked the door.

"Roxas? Sora? Welcome home!" A sing- song voice came from the kitchen on the right. Axel saw Roxas take off his shoes and proceeded to do the same. Axel wore tough army size boots. Mainly because shoes don't usually come in his size and he liked the feel of being able to clomp down the hallway at school and scare the little freshmen. He managed to get both shoes off in a reasonable amount of time before standing up and coming face to face with a patient Roxas—who had been waiting for him the whole time. Axel smiled and motioned for him to lead the way. Roxas walked into the kitchen and Axel was surprised to see a man, a young man only around the age of thirty, standing over the stove. He was mixing some kind of concoction and didn't notice their presence till Axel cleared his throat. The man looked away from his combination of ingredients that looked somewhat comparable to that of a stew.

"Welcome home Roxas. Who might this be?" the man said as he wiped his hand on a pink apron and walked over. He held out his hand and smiled, his dark brown, almost black locks fell haphazardly into his eyes as he wiped them away with his other hand.

"The name's Axel. Roxas said he needed help with some homework so I came to offer my services," Axel said with a smile as he also held out his own hand to the man. The two shook and for a moment the tension held thick through the air. One man's smile warned 'if you ever think about touching Roxas I will kill you'. The other smile rang out an "I can do whatever I want with or without your permission'. So it was only natural that Roxas could fell the sparks flying through the air. The two soon broke the handshake and the man introduced himself.

"I'm Zack Fair-Strife. Roxas' father," Zack put extra emphasis on the father and turned to his son. "Where's your brother?"

Roxas pulled out his phone and was about to type when he remembered Axel was there. He looked at him and wondered if he would talk on his behalf.

"Sora and his new friend Riku went to kill each other on some video games— I mean kill their math teacher 'cause they have so much homework." Axel covered up the first excuse realizing their father might not like the idea of his son playing games instead of homework.

"Okay! Roxas, why don't you text him and tell him to be home by dinner," Zack said as he walked back over to the now borderline burning stew. "Keep the door open boys. You've only just met."

Axel frowned at the innuendo and was about to retaliate when he felt a light hand grip his wrist and begin to pull him upstairs. Axel decided to just follow the quiet boy, completely content at the wrist-hand contact and quietness that enshrouded them. They finally reached Roxas' room, and just to be a pain in the butt, Axel closed the door behind them.

"Nice room you got Roxy," Roxas smiled at the nickname. No one had ever given him a nickname before so he didn't exactly know how to feel about the red head. Does this mean that they were now friends?

"Hey Roxy, what do you wanna do?" Roxas smiled and turned on a tv that lay in the corner of his room. He dug out an old PS2 system and plugged in the controllers. The game title popped up the words 'Kingdom Hearts' and the sweet but melodious music began to play with scenes of a boy that Roxas and Sora always fought saying it did and didn't look like Sora. The two played the game till Sora came in and demanded him and Riku play. The two were promptly kicked out of Roxas' own room and headed downstairs for the remains of stew. The two finished up and Axel decided it was around time for him to leave. Zack offered to drive but Axel disagreed saying he lived only a block or two away. He and Roxas stepped outside and stood in a slightly awkward silence. Neither wanting to break. Roxas decided to just go for it as he pulled out his cell phone and did one of the bravest things he had ever done in his life.

'Does this mean we are friends?'

"Of course it does! Roxy you're definitely my friend!"

'You're my first friend. I'm not as experienced—'

Axel took Roxas' cell phone as he was typing the message.

"Are you serious?" Axel looked through Roxas contacts and saw he only had Zack, Sora, Home, and their other father Cloud. Axel quickly entered his number into the device and threw it back to the groping boy. Roxas stared at the new number and decided to try it. Axel's phone vibrated a couple seconds later and he looked at the text.

'Thank you.'

Axel looked up and saw a tear prick in the corner of Roxas' eye. He quickly pulled the boy into a hug and softly rubbed his back in a way to comfort him.

"No problem."

The two separated and Axel yelled for him not to forget about the beach trip next week. Roxas stood on the steps till Axel disappeared from view. He knew he should probably go inside but his heart was starting to hurt. Why was it hurting him when it was so content a few minutes ago? Was it because Axel was gone? Roxas decided to set the thought aside for later and go to bed now as he walked into the house and shut the front door on the quiet neighborhood.

* * *

><p>...<p>

so what do y'all think hmmm? It's only going to be threeshot TT^TT I is sorry! But, the next chapter is already written ish and i will post it when i get back from spring vacation! ^0^

This is the longest chapter I have ever written! probably because it was originally going to be a oneshot but i was like 'i gotta cut this off'!

Happy birthday gilly!

Oh! **This story is made/created for my beta/husband/bestie DreamingDaxern. **aka without him, you wouldn't have this story!

**reviews help me concentrate and make me happy and giddy! story alerts are okay but author alerts rock! you should check out some of my other stories! **

Review for my life!


	2. Chapter 2

"Axel."

The little blond boy struggled to lift the heavy duffel bag into the trunk of the large red truck.

"Axel?"

The bag started to fall and the red head began to move towards the boy but his brunette brother was next to him and caught the bag before it fell.

"AXEL!"

Axel's body was suddenly propelled foreword and he stared up at Demyx from the ground. His eyes glared up at him and he quickly got off the sidewalk and began to chase the dirty blond.

"What the hell! I was just trying to tell you it's time to go!" Demyx yelled as he escaped into an open door to a second car. The two cars decided Sora and Roxas' house would be the best place to meet before they began their journey to the beach. Axel drove one car and Riku drove the other.

Riku and Sora decided to drive in the other car with the dirty blond and slate haired boys were going to be sitting in the back. Their names were Demyx and Zexion. Demyx was a little hyper and couldn't believe Roxas didn't know his name yet. Zexion was nice and Roxas had been sitting with him on the bus ever since the 'Seifer incident'. Nothing has happened to him since then.

Axel and Roxas would be riding in the front seats and a man introduced as Marluxia and his girlfriend Namine would be sitting in the back. Namine was sweet and wiped some smudge off of Roxas' cheek, surprising him. Marluxia was also nice and his hair smelled like roses when he gave Roxas a hug in greeting.

Roxas moved to get in the front seat and Axel quickly joined him after giving Demyx a punch in the arm. The ride soon commenced. It was to take three hours to get to Destiny Beach and Roxas had a feeling it was going to take a little longer than that. Their car pulled out and followed Riku's car onto the highway. Axel's phone began to ring and he threw it over to Roxas, who gave him an incredulous look.

"Can't answer; I'm driving," Axel responded with a smirk.

Roxas picked up the device and put it on speaker phone. The car was suddenly bombarded by Demyx's loud voice.

"I have to pee!" Demyx yelled at an octave that Roxas knew he could never accomplish.

"Well what do you want us to do about it?" Axel asked as he watched the car in front of them put on their blinkers.

"We're going to the store!" Demyx said happily.

Axel also put on his blinkers and the two cars headed to the store.

**xXx**

"Oh. Hell. No." Zexion said as he placed his feet firmly on the ground.

"But Zexy! You know you want to come in with us! You will be all alone in the car! Who know how long it will take for us to come back," Demyx begged as he got on his knees in the parking lot.

"Get off the ground," Zexion sighed and headed for the rest of the group. The sliding doors to Wal-Mart opened and welcomed the rambunctious group. Demyx immediately scrambled off to the bathroom, dragging Sora with him. Riku and Zexion soon followed them like lost puppies. The group was already down four members. Namine tugged Marluxia over to the gardening section and talked about how lovely a new plant would be.

"So, just you and me, eh?" Axel said. Roxas nodded and the two began to walk around the store. They headed to the college room supplies and decided to try out some chairs. The two were soon kicked out when Axel decided to try out the wheels and send himself flying down the aisle and into a worker. She yelled at them to go make a mess somewhere else in the store and the two walked over to electronics.

Wal-Mart was incredibly quiet at the time. There were a few people here and there, but nothing like a crowd. A voice suddenly yelled throughout the store.

"I FINISHED GOING PEE PEE!"

The same octave repeated once more. Axel and Roxas looked at each other with wide eyes and immediately burst out laughing. Roxas once again heard the man's fulfilling laughter, making his airy laugh all the more quiet. The two soon settled down and went to the front of the store. They came across the candy section on the way there and grabbed some. Roxas got lollipops and Axel grabbed some gum. The two brought their sugary items to the counter and paid for them.

They headed out to the car where Marluxia and Namine were waiting for Axel to unlock the doors. Axel handed the bag to Roxas and dug in the tight pockets of his even tighter jeans. He came up with a set of car keys, a penny, and an old gum wrapper. He pocketed the penny, threw the keys to Marluxia, and spit out the piece of gum he was currently chewing into the wrapper. Marluxia got in the front seat of the car and started it up. Namine sat in Roxas' previous seat. Axel and Roxas shrugged at the seat change and headed into their new sitting space.

Axel leaned across the center console and turned on the radio. Turning on a station with songs that were in the now, Evanescence soon came on. Turning the volume down to a low decibel, they all listened to the music. Namine began to sing softly, her voice carrying a wondrous tone.

Roxas finally had a chance to look at the two new people. Marluxia's pink hair came down to just below his shoulders and had a natural curl to it. He wore a white hoodie and nice fitting jeans that weren't too tight and stayed on his hips without the need of a belt. Namine had straight blonde hair that she always liked to sweep over one shoulder. She wore a plain white dress that went down to her knees and her bathing suit underneath, the straps being held tight around her neck.

Roxas' observing was suddenly interrupted when a person landed on the car's hood. Blond hair flew everywhere when the person attempted to scramble off the car as a brunette one joined him on the hood. The two rolled around and soon, Demyx escaped from Sora's clutches and ran to the other car. Sora sat on the hood glaring at the blond with a playful smile on his face. Roxas heard the red head next to him open the door and he suddenly saw his brother get pulled off of the hood.

"I swear to god, if there is a single fucking scratch or dent on this car, you are wiping it off with your ass, till I can't see it anymore!" Axel yelled.

Somehow, Sora escaped his grip and ran for cover, joining Demyx in the car. Axel immediately began to check for all of the above. When he saw nothing there, he breathed a sigh of relief and got in the car, just as Zexion and Riku came out of the superstore. The two got in their car and the car ride commenced once more.

Roxas fell asleep a couple times and woke up at random intervals. At one point in time, he saw Axel looking down at him; somehow he had fallen into the redhead's lap. He soon fell asleep once more due to the lull of the car's motor. When the car finally pulled to a stop, Roxas' eyes shot open and looked at Axel. He was leaning against the door with his elbow on the armrest and his head in his hand. His eyes were closed and his mouth was open with a soft breeze of air coming from it. Roxas wondered what he should do when the door suddenly opened. Axel began to fall but was stopped by the seatbelt that he was surprisingly wearing. Roxas quickly sat up and smiled at Sora's antics as he saw his brother giggling and running away. Axel struggled with the restriction around his waist and somehow managed to rip it off. He jumped out of the car and ran at the brunette. He was then promptly tripped by a dirty blond and Axel glared daggers at the two.

While the threesome continued their fun, Roxas got out of the car and decided to stick close to Namine. She called him over and gave him a cooler and a chair to carry and to follow Marluxia, who held the umbrella and a bunch of beach towels. They walked down to the beach and found a nice flat area, at least 20 feet away from the water. Making sure the time now was just past high tide, they decided it was the best place. They began to set things up.

When the umbrella was finally up and the towels laid out, everyone began to get ready. The previous threesome were already wrestling in the water. Demyx and Sora had already stripped down to their suits; Axel kept his shirt on. Namine, Riku, Zexion, and Marluxia all walked to the water and began to join in the fun. Zexion took out a floating bed and laid on it. He took out a book and began to read. Demyx splashed him once but quickly stopped when he saw his boyfriend glare at him. He pouted and began to chase after Sora but found that he was too busy kissing Riku.

After the first couple days of school, Riku and Sora quickly found their feelings for one another and soon became a couple. Everyone had seen it coming after the first day the two had stuck together like glue.

Demyx once again grumped around and began to look for Axel. He looked from side to side, but he was nowhere to be found. Roxas also began to look with him and was startled when he felt two arms encircle his waist and lift him up. He quickly wrapped his arms around Axel's head and smiled at Axel's smile. Their eyes locked and it took Axel a couple of minutes to remember what he was going to do.

"Hey Roxy, where's your bathing suit?"

Roxas shook his head and looked for some way to tell Axel. He suddenly had the urge to talk to the redhead. He didn't care what his voice sounded like; he just wanted Axel to know. He opened his mouth and tried to say the word, but nothing came out. Axel watched Roxas' moves and mistook it for Roxas trying to get away from him. He figured the cute boy might not like being this close to him

Axel had developed feelings for the blond haired boy as quickly as Sora and Riku had. He had yet to tell the blond boy, or anyone else for that matter, about his secret crush.

He let the boy down and Roxas kneeled down in the sand. He took a finger and drew a single word clearly through the colorful ground.

'Scars.'

Axel looked at Roxas for a moment. A slight blush was shown clearly on his face as he looked at the ground like usual. Axel laughed at the situation and Roxas gave him a horrified look. He watched the red head stop laughing, but keep a tender smile on his face as he lifted up his own shirt.

A huge burn mark ran across his stomach and wrapped around part of his back. The sweet, tender smile never left his mouth as Roxas slowly got off the ground. He slowly reached his hand out and began to touch the burn. Axel flinched slightly and Roxas backed up a bit, but Axel beckoned him back, telling him it was alright. Roxas went and touched the slightly mutated skin, and yet, he loved every piece of it. He looked up at Axel to question the whereabouts of whence the scar came from.

Axel had learned Roxas' movements well and could usually tell what he was thinking or wanted to do. Right now, he had a sense of loving, and wanted to question him.

"When I was a little kid, my mom failed to keep her lighter away from me. Long story, short, I winded up burning myself pretty bad and we lost our living room for a while."

Roxas' mouth opened in a silent O.

Roxas decided that if he was going to show anyone, it might as well be Axel. He hesitantly took off his shirt and dropped it on the ground. Axel looked at Roxas' body and saw he had a couple scars here and there. One ran across his stomach, just like his own burn. He wanted to touch it like his own scar. They were connected in this weird sort of way. He slowly got closer, but his hand didn't reach towards Roxas' stomach, it went for his face. He cupped the quiet blonds' face and lifted the downcast eyes to meet his own. He leaned in a bit to test the situation. To Axel's surprise, Roxas closed his eyes and leaned forward some more. Axel decided to go for it and kissed the blond. They held their position till they felt their cheeks grow to an equally high temperature.

They held their lips close to one another and Roxas leaned his forehead to touch Axel's. Their breathing was heavy from the sudden lack of air, but the two ignored it and just stared into each other's eyes.

The moment was interrupted when a caterwaul of hoots and whistling reached the two boys' ears. Both their faces turned a bright cherry red and they smiled meekly at the group. Axel suddenly picked Roxas up and brought him into the water. The two played and splashed each other for what seemed like hours. When the sun finally began to set, everyone started to help pack up.

Roxas watched as Axel took up the end of the line of people with carrying the large umbrella. Roxas was left to stand alone on the beach and he turned towards the vermillion horizon. The red and purples all mixed to create a beautiful color and Roxas loved the way he felt. It warmed him up on the inside. A pair of arms draped themselves across his shoulders and a head laid itself on top of his head. Roxas soaked in Axel's musky scent and turned around into his stomach. He snuggled against the warm fabric and looked up into the emerald eyes. They looked at him with an admiring brilliance and all seemed well for Roxas.

He had never felt so loved before in his life. Everything felt perfect. He slowly began to feel himself succumb to the darkness of sleep and felt the feeling of being lifted. Knowing he was being held in Axel's arms, he let himself fall asleep.

Axel felt Roxas' body become faint and saw the boy's eyes close with tiredness. He gently lifted the boy up, bridal-style, and carried him off toward the cars. He got in the back of his car and motioned for Marluxia to drive. Namine helped position Roxas so his head was lying comfortably on Axel's lap once more. The car ride was silent and soon Namine also joined in on the sleeping. Axel handed Marluxia a soft blanket from the back and helped him move Namine so she was leaning on it. All this was done while driving. Marluxia was always praised for his amazing driving abilities.

The two cars stopped at Sora and Roxas' house. Sora was somehow still wide awake and bounced over to where Axel was carrying a still sleeping Roxas out of the car.

"He fell asleep?"

Axel gave him a questioning look before answering, "Yeah, why wouldn't he?"

"He barely falls asleep even when he's at home. He's usually haunted by nightmares from the Hayner Incident."

"Hayner Incident?"

Sora eyes grew wide and he tried to think of something to say before heaving a sigh and looking into Axel's eyes, "He'll tell you if you ask him."

Axel nodded and decided he would ask the sleeping boy about this 'Incident' later on. For now, he had to get him up to bed. Sora opened the door for the red head and kissed Riku good night. Sora led Axel up to Roxas' room and left the two alone.

Axel kissed Roxas' head and told him to have sweet dreams. He went to leave when he felt a hand grip his sleeve. He looked down into cerulean orbs staring at him. He suddenly wondered what he was to the young boy before him. He bent down and kissed the boy's head. He then looked straight into his eyes and asked the question.

"Will you be my boyfriend?"

Roxas' eyes widened and he quickly sat up in the bed. Without a moment's hesitation, he leaped onto Axel, causing him to fall to the ground with a smiling Roxas on top.

"Does this mean yes?"

Roxas quickly nodded his head up and down in a very passionate excitement. Axel leaned in and kissed the boy before ruffling his hair and laying him down in bed. He bade him good night once more and said he would see him tomorrow.

Roxas watched his 'boyfriend' go and tucked himself into his covers. He brought the blankets up to his nose and hid his smile from the rest of the world. That night, he made the decision to learn how to talk again.

* * *

><p>Sorry for any spelling or sentence errors me and daxern missed! This be chapter 2 of his story!<p>

oh disclaimer- I no own! not even walmart! TT^TT

"Oh look! Snake's up in the tree! Honey Badger don't care! Honey Badger don't give a shit!"

and of course i be posting this chapter on FRIDAY FRIDAY! partyin partyin YEAH! MY HAND IS A DOLPHIN!

**_review for like fun! and for the honey badgers! _**


	3. Chapter 3

"Mansex."

The lengthy cat lay on the couch with its paws outstretched toward the floor. Its eyes were closed in sleep and slight irritation as its tail flicked angrily.

"Mansex?"

The cat opened one eye, revealing a bright yellow orb, and looked lazily at its master. The tail flicked to the side of its long white body and it began to unsheathe its claws.

"MANSEX!"

The cat finally lunged at its master, causing him to fall to the ground in surprise. The cat simply stood on him and walked off to find a new hiding place, well aware of its master looking at its disappearing form in disbelief.

Axel sat on the floor, watching the cat, till a hand appeared in front of his face. He grabbed it and allowed his boyfriend to lift him up and hold him in his arms in a tight embrace.

He looked down at the golden locks and saw Roxas looking back up at him. A smile caressed their faces and Roxas began to mouth words.

It had been two years since the two met and their love only grew stronger throughout the years. They graduated high school last year and found a small, one room apartment to fit the two of them.

Roxas still hadn't regained the ability to talk after all these years. Axel eventually adapted to Roxas' problem and was now able to read his mouth movements, making communicating a lot easier than through text messages.

'You can't name the cat, Xemnas, and call it, Mansex, at the same time,' Roxas mouthed.

"Whatever you say, love," Axel said as he stuck out his bottom lip.

He bent down and kissed the top of the boy's head, then headed to their tiny kitchen.

"You need anything to eat?"

Roxas nodded his head and headed over to where he kept his backpack for college. He took out the books he needed for homework and headed over to the kitchen. The kitchen had a counter on the other side so Roxas sat on a bar stool and began to work while Axel cooked up something for them to snack on.

The two sat in a satisfied silence till the phone began to ring. Axel was elbow deep in kitchen soap, cleaning their used dishes, so Roxas got off the tall stool and ran to the phone. He picked it up and held it to his ear.

"… Hello?" Sora's voice sounded from the machine. Roxas tapped the speaker in response to let the boy know that he was there. When Roxas had first got his cell phone, they had come up with a way for them to know whether he answered the phone or not. Roxas would tap in an almost Morse code and they would be able to recognize the boy instantly.

"Oh! Hi Roxas! How have you been? I haven't seen you guys in forever!"

Roxas rolled his eyes at the comment. They had just seen each other a few hours ago. After what happened when Roxas first arrived at the high school, Sora was still reluctant to let the boy out of his sight. He signed up for most of Roxas' classes with him, and therefore, they saw each other every day.

"Hey! What are you guys doing this weekend?" Roxas thought for a moment. Today was Friday, so this weekend must mean tomorrow. He tapped the phone for Sora to continue.

"Well, I wanted to know if you guys wanted to go to the beach! Riku, Demyx, Zexion, and I were planning on going and wanted to know if you guys wanted to come!"

Namine and Marluxia had moved to someplace called Liechtenstein after they graduated. They sent Roxas and Sora letters every now and then to tell them how they were doing.

Roxas brought the cordless phone over to Axel. He pressed for it to go to speakerphone and showed Axel that he had the phone.

'It's Sora,' he mouthed.

"Hey, Sora! What's up!" Axel practically yelled across the room. He still didn't understand that you didn't have to yell to be heard while the phone was on.

"Hey, Axel! I was just asking Roxas if you guys would like to go to the beach with us this weekend."

"This weekend being tomorrow, right?" Axel inquired.

"Yup!" Sora replied.

Axel looked to the ceiling in thought, and then looked to Roxas. Roxas nodded his affirmation and Axel answered.

"Sure. We'd love too."

Roxas mentally rejoiced. Axel's birthday was last week and he had given him a new pair of swim trunks. But, there was still more to add to the present. Roxas just couldn't find the time to give it to him. This would be his perfect chance.

After a short goodbye from Sora, Roxas walked back to the phone stand and set it on the charger. He jumped when he was suddenly hugged from behind. A nose snuggled its way into his hair and Axel breathed in the boy's luscious scent of lavender shampoo.

"Guess we'd better get ready," Axel motioned to the clock that read nine o'clock at night. Roxas nodded in agreement and led the man to their room.

After setting out all their clothes, they figured they had almost too much to fit a single suitcase. Axel breathed a sigh of relief when the bag closed on the enormous amount of clothes. Roxas playfully slapped his shoulder and laughed at his boyfriend.

Axel stared at the boy and relished his airy laughs. What he wouldn't give to here the boy talk…

Axel couldn't resist. He lunged for the delicate boy and pushed him onto the bed of unneeded clothes. Roxas tried to push him off but the smile was on his face and their lips met in a flurry of fireworks.

After a short makeout session, they got off the bed and Roxas fixed up all the clothes. He set them in their dresser and looked over their clean room. He pointed for the bathroom and told Axel to go get his teeth brushed and ready for bed.

Walking like a dejected puppy, Axel made his way to the bathroom. Roxas smiled at the boy and got himself ready for bed. He soon joined Axel in the bathroom and then went to bed.

The two snuggled underneath the covers and Axel soon succumbed to sleep. Roxas wiggled a bit under Axel's arms and then positioned their bodies to where he was comfortable.

He couldn't fall asleep.

He was way too excited for tomorrow, yet soon enough, exhaustion reigned over and his eyes closed to the world.

* * *

><p>"Roxy, babe. Come on. It's time to wake up."<p>

A soft kiss was pressed to Roxas' forehead and his cerulean eyes slowly opened to meet Axel's emerald ones. A smile was present on his face and he jumped out of bed.

Excitement and nervousness presented itself to Roxas in the form of stomach pains.

Axel asked him what he wanted for breakfast. Roxas shook his head and held his stomach. Axel walked over to him and put his hand over the boy's stomach as well.

"You okay? Do you not want to go? We can stay here if you want. Think you caught the flu?"

Roxas quickly shook his head and mouthed his response.

'Maybe I'm pregnant.'

Axel's laugh astounded Roxas and he watched with a smile as the boy fell to the ground, holding his own stomach, at the biologically incorrect statement.

Roxas had successfully covered up his sickness and headed over to their bag. He lifted it up and found it was extremely heavy. He wanted so badly to just turn around and yell for Axel to come help him, but he stood there and waited till Axel was done laughing and getting ready.

Axel soon came and carried the bag down to their car. Axel got in the driver's seat and started up the car while Roxas got in the passenger's seat and buckled his seatbelt.

Demyx and Zexion were loading their car as they pulled up. They waved to the two and parked in front of the two bedroom house. Sora and Riku came out the front door. Sora ran and gave Roxas a hug while Riku locked the door and went to greet Axel. The group reminisced for a few minutes till they decided to leave. They decided to split the couples into two groups.

The quiet group, which consisted of Riku, Zexion and Roxas—who all enjoyed their silence and small talk all the way to the beach.

The loud group, which was made up of Sora, Demyx, and Axel. Roxas was thankful that Axel was driving because he didn't trust the other two. The quiet group had watched numerous times as the car swerved with the beat of music. Let's just say that it was a dangerous ride and a bad decision on their account.

When the groups finally made it to the beach, they all pitched in to help set up their area. Sora had remembered to bring a cooler and had a giant watermelon stuffed inside it. Roxas facepalmed and Axel ran to grab the baseball bat.

Axel and Demyx each took turns spinning each other and attempting to smash the watermelon. Each time, the other would make sure that the one playing wouldn't be able to hit it.

Riku soon got annoyed. He walked over to them, grabbed the stick, and smashed the watermelon. He then handed the bat to Axel and walked back to Roxas and Zexion. Roxas had a giant smile radiating off his face and Zexion had a slight smirk.

The group consumed the watermelon and went out to hit the water.

Demyx pulled out a giant purple manatee floaty and began to blow it up. Roxas rolled his eyes as he watched the dirty blond fail to blow the thing up. He walked over, sat down next to him, and grabbed at the air hole. The two continued their strenuous work till they were rudely interrupted.

"Roxy! I'm hurt! How dare you give someone else a blowjob!" Axel said as he grabbed at his heart.

Roxas' face blushed a deep crimson as he threw down the fully blown floating device and launched himself at the red head. Axel caught him in an embrace and hugged the blushing boy who desperately tried to hide his face in Axel's shirt.

The two soon separated and the group headed out to the water. They all enjoyed a game of water ball and wakeboarding.

After all the spirited play and getting nice tans from the sun, the group soon split up with their couples. Riku and Sora went to search for seashells, Zexion and Demyx went to get some food for everyone, and Axel and Roxas walked along the beach.

Axel and Roxas held hands till Axel found a nice spot to sit and let their feet soak in the rising tide. Roxas kept his head down. His stomach bubbled with nervousness and his hands began to get clammy. He unconsciously tightened his grip on the man's hand and Axel looked at him.

Axel slowly brought a hand under Roxas' chin and pulled him into a chaste kiss. Roxas watched as Axel put a hand in his wallet that he had brought with him and pulled something out. Suddenly, Axel was on one knee and looking into Roxas' wide eyes.

"Roxas Strife, will you marry me? Whether it is after college or now or never, I don't care I just want to—"

Before Axel could finish, Roxas cut him off by throwing himself onto the boy and hugging him tightly. They fell onto the sand and Roxas looked down at his fiancé.

Now was the time he had to do this.

"…I will." Roxas breathed as he looked into Axel's face.

Axel's eyes widened as he pushed himself up and held Roxas' on his lap. He grabbed both his hands in his own.

"What? Did you just…"

Roxas nodded his head and held out his hand. Axel quickly got over his surprise and put the ring on his finger.

Roxas smiled and quickly stood up, startling the boy once more. He saw that their friends were all coming near them. Sora was running towards them with two sticks of sea salt ice cream and Riku held the other two.

Roxas finally let it out. He looked Axel in the eyes and didn't care what his voice sounded like. He wanted everyone to know how truly happy he was.

"I LOVE AXEL FINEMAN!"

The group stopped their running when they heard a voice. Everyone thought for a second and wondered who would love Axel.

Sora was the first one to realize who it was and recognize the voice he missed so much. He didn't care what he was interrupting, he took off running. The ice cream was forgotten and Sora collided with Roxas.

Tears of joy were coming down the brothers' faces and Axel took his fiancé in his arms—crying tears of joy himself. They shared a passionate kiss and let the group hug them.

Once things settled down, they began walking home. Demyx was the one who discovered the item on Roxas' hand and made sure everyone knew with his infamous octave.

"ROXAS! Is that a RING on your FINGER!"

Roxas blushed a deep red and nodded his head. Demyx wagged a finger at him.

"Ah, ah, ah! I need an answer."

"Use that beautiful voice I just heard, Roxy," Axel whispered greedily in his ear. Roxas' eyes widened at the sound of Axel's own voice.

"Yes," Roxas said as he looked down at the ground and attempted to hide his embarrassment.

Demyx quickly scooped him up in a hug, yelling how cute he is, till Axel took Roxas out of his arms and into his own.

The group soon made their way home and Roxas broke the news to his parents. They hugged him and cried when they realized that Roxas could talk, but with the words that came with them had another consequence.

Axel hadn't been able to say the word 'wedding' till the day of in fear of Zack and Cloud's wrath.

The two got married right after Roxas finished his college classes and they all lived happily ever after!

* * *

><p>My first story that I have EVER finished! be it only 3 chapters, it still counts! nya! Well sorry for any mostakes on this chapter, i really just wanted to post it! Thank you for those who reviewed! I know that the summary was poop and I guess that you people go for the long summarys that i always write! well alrighty then!<p>

Thank you again and I hope you come back for more!

Love, Chi-chan


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